‘Recent analysis has identified 11 health interventions that could save more than 6 million mothers and children by 2030, if they are invested in 24 countries’, says an article in The Guardian’s Global development professionals network.’ Full text http://bit.ly/2eq6IeT
‘Achieving the ambitious target to end maternal and child deaths, enshrined in the sustainable development goals (SDGs), will require ingenuity. The good news is that 11 health innovations could save more than 6 million mothers and children by 2030, if they are invested in and used widely in 24 priority countries…
‘The 11 innovations modelled in our analysis, crowdsourced from experts around the world, are gamechanging health technologies and approaches that will have wide-scale impact, ensure healthier babies, protect mothers, and secure better health in the long term.
1 Injectable contraceptives…
2 Better pneumonia treatment…
3 Kangaroo mother care…
4 Chlorinators for water treatment…
5 Antiseptic gel…
6 Single-dose anti-malarial drugs…
7 Neonatal resuscitators…
8 Low-cost balloon tamponade…
9 Drugs to stop blood loss after childbirth…
10 Rice fortification…
11 New tests for a life-threatening maternal condition.’
A personal comment: Most of the above are basic interventions and have been available for decades. The article says nothing about implementation (other than a brief comment on funding), and yet this is the fundamental issue. As we discussed on HIFA recently (Thematic Discussion on Implementation Research, supportd by TDR, WHO, The Lancet): ‘Millions of people die needlessly every year because they did not receive basic lifesaving interventions. Implementation research is all about finding ways to improve access to medical treatments and other health services. There is no area of research that is more important in terms of its potential to save lives and reduce suffering.’
Best wishes, Neil
Let’s build a future where people are no longer dying for lack of healthcare knowledge – Join HIFA: www.hifa.org
